Health
FG Begins Validation of Local Cures for COVID-19
By Mathew Dadiya, Abuja
The Federal Government Thursday, disclosed that claims of inventions and cures related to COVID-19 by some individuals and organisations in Nigeria were undergoing scientific validation processes by various health experts in the country.
This was even as the government cautioned the people against what it described as ”high level of non-compliance” with the ban on inter-state travels – resulted in a high number of vehicles finding their way across many state borders despite the curfew and border restrictions.
Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and Chairman of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha revealed this during the daily national briefing in Abuja.
The SGF said that the PTF, as part of its mandate, remained supportive of and receptive to outcomes of research adding that It however, found it imperative to re-iterate its position on the need for such discoveries to undergo the scientific validation processes.
Mustapha said, ”the Complementary and Alternative Medicine Department, of the Federal Ministry of Health, has been evaluating such claims and forwarded some that have met the preliminary requirements to the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to carry out the necessary procedures for listing.”
He appealed to professional bodies and trade associations, community and religious bodies along with other relevant stakeholders to take up the challenge of creating awareness on COVID-19 and also project into the post-COVID 19 era.
The Nigerian Institute of Architects has taken up this challenge and has in addition conveyed the commitment of members of the institute in all states of the Federation, to offer free Consultancy Services (design, remodeling, supervision for COVID-19 related infrastructure such as isolation centres, test laboratories and upgrading of health facilities, he stated.
”While the PTF deeply appreciates this offer and look forward to receiving such from other professional bodies, we urge all State Governments to save costs by taking advantage of this offer, ” the Chairman of the Task Force said.
He reiterated the call by PTF to all Nigerians to continue to collaborate with governments at all levels, in the implementation of these guidelines.
He said that the PTF continued to monitor the level of compliance with the guidelines issued under phase One of the eased restrictions.
According to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, it was our considered opinion that the appeal to all Nigerians to fully comply with the guidelines must be sustained because these were unusual times and the seemingly calm atmosphere should not to be misconstrued as a return to normalcy.
“Non-compliance is manifesting in several ways and could be costly in the future.
“Reports from various parts of the country at the close of day yesterday 6th May, 2020 indicate the following: Lack of respect for timing and the curfew also resulted in heavy traffic gridlock where many motorists spent the night following the enforcement of the curfew; increasing level of abuse of exemption granted to vehicles conveying specified goods.
“Reports across the country show that they continue to hide passengers with the intention of ferrying them across state boundaries; and continual transportation of Almajiris across state borders is still evident.
“I have highlighted the foregoing as it relates to the road transportation sector to underscore the dangers inherent in the seeding of the virus across states. I however commend the security agencies for their vigilance in apprehending and prosecuting violators. It is, worrisome, however, to note reports received about isolated cases of compromise by some security operatives.
”We urge the various commands of the security agencies to enhance their monitoring machinery to ensure that we do not only achieve the objective of stopping the spread of the virus but also prevent the good name of the services from being tarnished. We also implore all Nigerians to alert the security agencies whenever they witness the violation of these guidelines.
”It is important to remember that this is a war in which every Nigerian is a combatant and must resist any effort by a few individuals or groups, to endanger our collective survival.
”The extension of the ban on all flights for additional four weeks takes effect from tonight as reported to you yesterday. We shall, however, continue to give exemptions for flights in circumstances that are considered essential.
”The first batch of 256 Nigerian evacuees arrived from the United Arab Emirates into Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos yesterday. In accordance with our protocol, all evacuees have been taken into 14-day isolation at designated facilities in Lagos State. The NCDC will conduct appropriate tests to determine their status within the period of isolation, ” the SGF stated.
He added that the PTF was finalizing arrangements for similar evacuation from other parts of the world and you would be adequately briefed on developments.
Hundreds of millions of children and adolescents around the world face daily violence in their homes, schools, and elsewhere which could have lifelong consequences.The World Health Organisation (WHO) said this on Thursday.The violence includes being hit by family members, being bullied at school, as well as physical, emotional, and sexual violence, WHO said.
In most cases, violence occurs behind closed doors. More than half of those aged two to 17 or more than a billion minors in total experience violence each year according to the WHO. In three out of five children and adolescents, it is physical violence at home, with one in five girls and one in seven boys experiencing sexual violence.Between a quarter and half of minors are affected by bullying according to the information provided.Only half of the children reportedly talk about their experiences of violence and less than 10 per cent receive help.Lifelong consequences could include depression and anxiety disorders, or tobacco and drug use.As a result, many children do not reach their learning potential in school.Against the backdrop of being highly preventable, violence remains a horrific day-to-day reality for millions of children around the world leaving scars that span generations,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director general.The UN’s first conference on violence against children opened in Bogota, Columbia on Thursday.At the two-day conference, more than 100 countries pledged to find ways to better support overwhelmed parents and introduce school programmes against bullying and for healthy social behaviour.They also pledged to raise the minimum age for marriage.Some countries wish to generally ban children from being hit at school or home. (dpa/NAN)
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has listed 17 bacteria, viruses and parasites that regularly cause disease as top priorities for new vaccine development.WHO, in a study published on Tuesday, reconfirmed long-standing priorities for vaccine research and development (R&D), including for HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis – three diseases that collectively take nearly 2.
5 million lives yearly. The study is the first global effort to systematically prioritise endemic pathogens based on their regional and global health impact. Attention is also given to pathogens such as Group A streptococcus, which causes severe infections and contributes to 280,000 deaths from rheumatic heart disease, mainly in lower-income countries.Another new priority is Klebsiella pneumoniae — a bacteria that was associated with 790,000 deaths in 2019 and is responsible for 40 per cent of neonatal deaths due to blood infection (sepsis) in low-income countries.The new study supports the goal of ensuring that everyone, everywhere, can benefit from vaccines that protect against serious diseases.It aims to shift the focus in vaccine development away from commercial returns towards regional and global health needs, WHO’s Dr Mateusz Hasso-Agopsowicz, who works in vaccine research, said in a statement.He explained that in the past, vaccine R&D typically was influenced by profitability.“As a result, diseases that severely affect low-income regions received little attention.“We hope this represents a critical shift where we want to change the focus from commercial perspective profitability of new vaccines towards the actual health burden so that the new vaccine research and development is driven by health burden and not just commercial opportunities,” he said.To carry out the study, WHO asked international and regional experts what they think is important when prioritising pathogens for vaccines R&D.Criteria included deaths, disease and socioeconomic impact, or antimicrobial resistance.“We had asked experts that have expertise in pathogen epidemiology, clinicians, paediatricians, vaccine experts from all of the WHO regions, to ensure that the list and the results that we produce really reflect the needs of diverse populations worldwide,” Hasso-Agopsowicz said.Analysis of those preferences, combined with regional data for each pathogen, resulted in the top 10 priority pathogens for each of WHO’s six regions globally.The regional lists were then consolidated to form the global list, resulting in the 17 priority endemic pathogens for which new vaccines are urgently needed.To advance vaccine R&D, WHO has categorised each pathogen based on the stage of vaccine development and the technical challenges involved in creating effective vaccines.Hasso-Agopsowicz said the study is expected to guide future vaccine R&D investments, including funders, researchers and vaccine developers, and also policymakers as they “can decide whether to introduce these vaccines into immunisation programmes.” (NAN)
The Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU), University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan,has suspended the strike it embarked on Oct. 25.The workers resumed work on Friday morning.The seven-day nationwide warning industrial action embarked upon by the unions was to press home their demands ofadjustment of Consolidated Health Salary Structure as was done with the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure sinceJan.
2, 2014 and implementation of consultant cadre for pharmacists in federal health institutions. Others are upward review in the retirement age from 60 to 65 years for health workers and 70 years for consultants, andpayment of outstanding salaries of JOHESU members in professional regulatory councils.The UCH JOHESU Chairman, Mr Oladayo Olabampe, said that the strike was suspended as directed by the national body.He explained that “the suspension followed an MoU signed between JOHESU national leadership and Federal Government.“The Federal Government asked for a maximum of six weeks counting from Oct. 31, to meet our demands.“Based on the MoU signed, the JOHESU National Executive Council met and resolved that the strike be suspended on Fridaynationwide.”According to him, JOHESU UCH is obeying the order, and workers have resumed work.Olabampe said that if the demands were not met after the six weeks, they would embark on an indefinite strike. (NAN)
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